Today, you never know what can be taking a picture of you. Computer, mannequins, and security cameras all have the capability to stealthily record us. Now you can add your friend’s phone to the list. That is, if you’re trying to get into it.

Lookout Mobile‘s latest Android mobile security feature takes a picture of anyone who inputs a phone’s password incorrectly three times or more. It’s intent is to help people with stolen phones grab a shot of the thief, perhaps to help police identify and locate the person (and hopefully retrieve the phone). It works silently. The app uses the front-facing camera to snap a picture of the snoop and email it to you.

“We want to help people protect the privacy of their most personal device, and we designed Lock Cam specifically to address unauthorized parties trying to access your phone,” said Lookout lead project manager Jonathan Stull in an email to VentureBeat. “Important to note: You can’t trigger Lock Cam remotely – someone has to be trying to enter your locked device to activate Lock Cam.”

Regardless, willingly installing software that silently takes a picture of anyone standing in front of the phone is concerning. If someone were to access Lookout’s systems, they could theoretically figure out a way to trigger the camera response. However, Chris Morales, a mobile security analyst with 451 Research, isn’t as worried:

“It’s only a concern if the Lookout software itself is compromised,” said Morales in an e-mail to VentureBeat. “It is at risk no more than any other security system. Malware for Android already exists that can take advantage of physical sensors on a device, like the camera.”

Of course, the less pressing issue is that people enter their passwords incorrectly all the time, especially if they’re in a hurry. While it might be uncomfortable knowing your picture is being taken every time, it’s not a huge inconvenience to get the email. If anything, you can see what you looked like that day.

With this update the company also released a new premium feature that allows you to leave a 300-character long message on your phone’s lock screen should you lose your phone. This way a do-gooder could see the message, which might include a phone number to call or an address, and return the phone to its rightful owner.

This feature is only avalable for Lookout’s Premium accounts, which you can get for $2.99 a month.

Android camera image via vegetando/Flickr

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

Lost smartphones may cost consumers $30 billion this year if those phones are not recovered, says mobile security software company Lookout Mobile.

Remember that time a prototype iPhone 4 was “lost” in a bar? Well, it certainly didn’t stop Apple from making a ton of money, but the scenario of leaving the bar and a smartphone behind is all too familiar for many of us. Lookout Mobile surveyed data from its 15 million customers and determined that in 2011, nine million of those people lost their phones. That’s a lost phone every 3.5 seconds. If it takes you seven minutes to read this post, 120 smartphones will have been lost by the time you finish.

The city you live in may actually contribute to your butterfingers. The top five cities where people lost phones are Philadelphia, Seattle, Oakland, Long Beach, and Newark, according to Lookout. Where you lose your phone within those cities varies, but one thing stays the same: you’re most likely to lose your phone in a place where you’re handling drinks. The top two locations overall were coffee shops and bars.

For all those San Franciscans reading, “tech startups” was ranked tenth where you’re likely to lose your phone. (Anyone want to come visit VentureBeat? We’re a tech-media company, but I’m sure one of us could use an upgrade…)

So, what adds up to $30 billion in cost? To start, each phone costs money. In 2011 alone, Lookout located over $2.5 billion in phones. For instance, if you don’t want to sign a new two-year contract, an iPhone 4S can run you $649.99 — and that’s just the 16GB model. Banking apps, sensitive corporate information, and whatever price we put on our Facebook data all add up to that $30 billion cost to consumers.

Antivirus software maker Symantec recently reported its “Honey Stick Project,” on what happens to smartphones after they are lost. Researchers left phones, which were outfitted with a GPS and monitoring software, in New York, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and Ottawa, Canada. They fashioned icons that mimicked well-known apps, but actually sent back data on whether the phone’s “finder” attempted to access personal information.

They did.

Ninety-six percent of people who found the smartphone attempted to use the phone. Eighty-nine percent tried to open personal apps. Only 50 percent actually tried to contact the owner.

You can check out Lookout Mobile’s report online for more factoids about lost phones. I leave you with a few of my favorites:

1. People in London lost $20 million worth of phones during this study. That’s enough to buy 500 royal wedding cakes (as served to the Prince and Duchess of Cambridge at the Royal Wedding in 2011).
2. In Seoul, Korea, the number one place people lost their phones was in a Martial Arts Dojo.
3. The dollar value of phones lost in Seattle was still only enough to cover half of Starbucks’ CEO’s salary for 2011.

Image via Shutterstock